Why does it take years to learn self-defense when a fight is less than 12 seconds?

[still learning]

Hello, Many people believe it takes a long to time to learn self-defense and yet a fight is only seconds long.

Is our training practical and can a person who wants to learn to protect themselves have to train for years and years?

Think about how many moves and tarkets will we need to learn to stop an attacker? You will want to end it fast and escape alive? How long will it learn to do this? What do you share we your family and friends who don't train but want to know what they can do to protect themselves?

Look and study real street fights and watch real fights and see what happens in most of them, because that is how it will be for YOU! never the same each time and NO rules, totally chaos.

Are you prepare for this? .....only seconds to go...........Aloha

 

[Cujo]

I think it all depends on who you are fighting. If it is an out of shape drunk with no training thats one thing but, if it's a trained fighter with a bad attitude, that can be a whole differant story. Police officers recieve a certain amount of DT training but I think that you must constantly train so that you are prepared for the worst case situations. Most of the fights that I see as a cop involve drunks throwing "haymakers". Not a real problem for someone with proper training, however, having said that, You never know what your opponent is capable of and should continue to train so as to be ready to defend yourself against someone who actually knows what he is doing. Bruce Lee said it best. "It is better to know and not need than to need and not know".

Pax
Cujo

 

[MA-Caver]

Because : " There's no such thing as a fair fight!"
Years and years of training hone your body, mind and spirit together to effectively end the fight as soon as it's started. I've seen fights that last a few seconds and I've seen them last for as long as an hour.
Personally I'd rather be in one that last a few seconds because I really don't like hurting nor hurting someone. But being able to hit that one area which will incapaciate your opponent/antagonist and put them out of their fighting mode/mood/whatever is a lot better than dragging it out.
Also think about others as well. Bystanders or your significant other or your date, they could get hurt (accidently) in the long fight, because it isn't going to stay in one place.
Thus, train long and train hard to end it all quick as possible.

Remember the Oath of Peace.

:asian:

 

[FearlessFreep]

A song takes five minutes to play...years to learn how to play

 

[Adept]

I think part of the reason it can take so long to learn over-all self defense techniques, is that we have to un-learn years and years worth of life experience before we can start learning again.

We've learned, through our experiences, that we shouldn't hurt people, that we are safe at home and in the street, that we can be in condition white all day and night long and never have a problem.

The mindset can be the biggest thing to change.

In addition, the actual physical techniques don't take too long to learn. Six weeks with a dedicated student will yeild remarkable results. But he won't remember them on the street if he doesn't keep on training them. The length of training isn't so much about getting sharp as staying sharp.

 

[Drac]

I think it all depends on who you are fighting. If it is an out of shape drunk with no training thats one thing but, if it's a trained fighter with a bad attitude, that can be a whole differant story. Police officers recieve a certain amount of DT training but I think that you must constantly train so that you are prepared for the worst case situations. Most of the fights that I see as a cop involve drunks throwing "haymakers". Not a real problem for someone with proper training, however, having said that, You never know what your opponent is capable of and should continue to train so as to be ready to defend yourself against someone who actually knows what he is doing. Bruce Lee said it best. "It is better to know and not need than to need and not know".

Pax
Cujo

Couldn't have said it any better..Someone with nothing to lose will throw anything they have in their arsenal at you, you must be prepaired to deal with whatever..

 

[Grenadier]

When push comes to shove, most likely, someone is going to default to his consistent level of training, instead of "rising to the occasion."

It takes years to build up someone so that he can train consistently hard on a regular basis.

 

[Danny T]

Hello, Many people believe it takes a long to time to learn self-defense and yet a fight is only seconds long.

Is our training practical and can a person who wants to learn to protect themselves have to train for years and years?

Think about how many moves and tarkets will we need to learn to stop an attacker? You will want to end it fast and escape alive? How long will it learn to do this? What do you share we your family and friends who don't train but want to know what they can do to protect themselves?

Look and study real street fights and watch real fights and see what happens in most of them, because that is how it will be for YOU! never the same each time and NO rules, totally chaos.

Are you prepare for this? .....only seconds to go...........Aloha

This has been discussed several times. First are you asking about Self-Defense, Fighting, or Martial Art? There are some major differences.

Self-Defense is quite simple, direct, efficient and takes very little time to learn. Any good instructor can teach excellent self-defense techniques in a few hours and the participant should be able to apply them after only a few attempts.

Fighting takes a bit more time however, fighting isn't self-defense. Fighting is participating, self-defense isn't. Fighting is more like dueling, standing toe to toe against another fighter. Self-defense is stopping the other person from hurting you and getting away or simply getting away and that doesn't take a long time to learn.

Martial art takes the longest and for many is a life long endeavor but martial art is not self-defense either.

Danny Terrell

 

[Bigshadow]

Hello, Many people believe it takes a long to time to learn self-defense and yet a fight is only seconds long.

Is our training practical and can a person who wants to learn to protect themselves have to train for years and years?

Think about how many moves and tarkets will we need to learn to stop an attacker? You will want to end it fast and escape alive? How long will it learn to do this? What do you share we your family and friends who don't train but want to know what they can do to protect themselves?

Look and study real street fights and watch real fights and see what happens in most of them, because that is how it will be for YOU! never the same each time and NO rules, totally chaos.

Are you prepare for this? .....only seconds to go...........Aloha

In the sense of Self Defense, not sport.

Because you will fight how you train! In a real confrontation, there is no time to THINK. Things just happen! It takes a long time for the body to do what it needs to do, without conscious thought. If you have to *think* about which technique you need to use, you are already too late (ie, possibly dead)!

 

[Gemini]

In the sense of Self Defense, not sport.

Because you will fight how you train! In a real confrontation, there is no time to THINK. Things just happen! It takes a long time for the body to do what it needs to do, without conscious thought. If you have to *think* about which technique you need to use, you are already too late (ie, possibly dead)!

Good statement. (Actually, they've all be good statements.) Because every conflict is different, it's an advantage to know how to deal with as many scenarios as possible.

Body memory. For every action, there's a reaction. If someone moves on you a certain way, you'll (through years of training) respond a certain way.
Mind control. Again, something that takes a great deal of practice. Still learning mentioned "chaos". Not if you are capable of controling the situation, it isn't. Though there are no gaurantee's, you can stack the odds in your favor.
Awareness. Know how to identify a potentially threatening person/place/thing and avoid it before it takes shape.

 

[still learning]

Hello, If you were in a real fight for your life today? How long of training do you think you need to survive this fight?

against one or two or more people?

The point is this? Must we train for years.....or can we learn to survive by practiceing a few self-defense skills that can be learn and use in a very few hours of training and practice?

Is your training giving the skills to use.....NOW? and tommorrow? or do you need more years of training? ......

something to think about in your classes............Aloha

 

[Carol]

It would definitely take years for me to be able to survive an actual fight. Should I need my skills, I would focus more on distracting and being able to escape.

Am I getting the skills? Slowly. But I'm getting more than that, too. I'm learning an art. I'm getting in better shape. I'm becoming more disciplined. My mind is becomng more focused.

I can't say I have a specific end result (fighting) in mind. I'm more interested in seeing just how far I can go with what I'm doing.

 

[still learning]

Hello, It will not take years to learn how to fight back? If someone try to attack you or rape you today? What will you do? Wait till you get more years of training.....again the point is there are things one can learn today and use today to fight back?

Why is your system not teaching you these things? Most people who train for years and years will tell you they are not ready? Why? ...simple they have not train for real fighting!

The martial arts have not forcus on real self-defense and real fighting! Most people believe Karate style will work on the streets.....ever see people fight like in class on the streets?

My years in Shotokan give me no confidence for street fighting...only against other students. Yet real fighting is different....wait till you get in a real fight......then you will understanding how good your training has been for you.......................Good luck.............Aloha

 

[tradrockrat]

I used to teach self defense classes at a community college. The stress was on SELF DEFENSE, not martial arts OR fighting. The techniques were designed to be simple, direct, and place an emphasis on self preservation, evasion and brutal attacks to mobility and vital targets. The students were meeting with me twice a week for 75 minutes for 8 weeks. I have testimonies from two of my former students stating that tactics taught to them in my class saved them from serious injury. One woman actually fought off her abusive boyfriend. None of my students were martial artists, and few of them were "fighters" of any sort, but they knew (because I stressed it over and over) that without continued training on their own after the class ended, they were wasting their time. Muscle memory is as important as the "attitude adjustment" of mental conditioning, and you just can not teach your body adequately in a few hours of training.

 

[tradrockrat]

Hello, It will not take years to learn how to fight back? If someone try to attack you or rape you today? What will you do? Wait till you get more years of training.....again the point is there are things one can learn today and use today to fight back?

I can teach you techniques today that will work next week, but they won't work next month if you never practice them. That's the main point I'd like to make. The one time lesson garanteed to make you invincible is a myth - it doesn't exist because humans don't function that way.

 

[still learning]

Hello, The point is this.....Martial arts have miss the point of fighting back and self-defense.

Your training should be simple and workable.....and not take years to learn!

Easy to remember and anyone can do it!

If kata really was effective every sports would have people doing some form of kata to match there sport.

Tennis, golf, bowling, wrestling, basketball, football, ruby,mountain climbing, hockey, and etc..... Aloha

 

[tradrockrat]

I'ver never personally met anyone who teaches Katas in self defense classes. They teach them in Martial ARTS classes - because it's an art.

 

[jdinca]

Hello, If you were in a real fight for your life today? How long of training do you think you need to survive this fight?

against one or two or more people?

The point is this? Must we train for years.....or can we learn to survive by practiceing a few self-defense skills that can be learn and use in a very few hours of training and practice?

Is your training giving the skills to use.....NOW? and tommorrow? or do you need more years of training? ......

something to think about in your classes............Aloha

Yes, you can teach someone a few techniques and their chances of survival will be better. What you cannot teach them in a few hours is mental discipline and emotional self control. Two very important skills that can make the difference between avoiding a confrontation in the first place, or being right in the middle of one. If found in the middle of one, the ability to keep your wits about you can mean the difference of getting out of the situation, or becoming a victim. Those skills take years to develop and the hard work and discipline of your martial arts training is a vehicle to help you achieve those goals. In the process, you become much more physically adept at defending yourself, again increasing your chances of survival.

 

[Grenadier]

If kata really was effective every sports would have people doing some form of kata to match there sport.

Tennis, golf, bowling, wrestling, basketball, football, ruby,mountain climbing, hockey, and etc..... Aloha

In a way, those sports mentioned above have their own kata. Many times, a tennis player, will take practice swings, especially when going through his own serve motions (same set of motions each time). Other times, he may have a set pattern of shot placements that he uses that are surefire winners.

Some basketball players will continually practice their driving moves, attacking the same set of "lanes" each time, with a refined set of motions. Same with hockey players.

The game of football may not be too far away from highly complex kata, since all of these plays require each of the players to be part of a set of routines.

 

[Bigshadow]

Hello, It will not take years to learn how to fight back? If someone try to attack you or rape you today? What will you do? Wait till you get more years of training.....again the point is there are things one can learn today and use today to fight back?

Even an untrained person can fight back. Even the most meek and untrained will fight back when put in certain circumstances. Does that mean they will survive? I dunno. Maybe. Does that mean they have the skills to be the most effective and efficient with their movement and technique so they don't put themselves in an ever worsening situation? Probably not.